The latest update from Stentec received a few days ago mentions that SS5 is well under way and beta should be end of September.
As I have no idea of contents, just like to put it on record that my interests are older sceneries which need compatible boats to go with them for any realism.

To date most of the sceneries I have made, static floating boats and content, I have tried to set in the age of sail of about 2 centuries ago, give or take a century either side.

Gaff rig boats may need seperate programming for the sail function? I don't mind static sails and moving boats, either as a complete animation or as background traffic, as long as there is one gaffrig sailable boat available, and other moving boats in a scene compatible to the era.

Of course these are just my interests as I have no interest in navigation, racing, or learning to sail.

I did have my own small boat, a 21 feet sloop many, many, moons ago, in the distant past, for about a year which I had moored on the river Douglas, off the River Ribble, after sailing it from the river Alt.

Whether any of what I have mentioned will be available in SS5 I have no idea, and I know there is to be a new scenery designer and a boat designer, but I have no idea of what functions these will have. Of course I fully understand the Stentec simulators are for navigation, sail training and racing, but surprising how simulators, if the functions in it are flexible enough, can be used, as I have made sailing ships, horse drawn barges and about 7 miles of Liverpool docks c1910 for a train simulator.

So hopefully, I will be interested enough to continue with SS5, making sceneries and content, once a disc version with scenery designer, is available from my usual UK supplier.

Or maybe I will just go on a world cruise instead...if I win the lottery

Hi AJ... if all goes well with the the new boat designer mentioned by Stentec and scenery designer in their update we should be able to design "and" sail different types of boats not just change the skins(textures), in addition to the default boats, etc.

The only problem with gaff-rig is the 4 sided sails and if the configuration is only for 3 sides we are scuppered. Maybe could just use the jib sail?

I think I will just stay wih the Stentec simulators for the duration as can't really see any alternatives and have considered ship-sim and Virtual Sailor.

Hope everything will work with the latest computers without problems?

Will be waiting for the CD version myself hopefullly, as on dial-up and I don't buy online, etc.

I think the configuration that you type in sets the sailing and movement characteristics, at least in some simulators.
A box or house will fly in a flight sim I have been told, and I have made sailing boats on invisible track in a train sim.. The simulator doesn't know they are boats
In Virtual Sailor I have raised the boat clear of water and it still sailed, etc.

I suppose it all depends how it is programmed.
Would like to see if I could get my narrow boats moving even if I have to add an invisible sail to them.
It worked for the hovercraft I made static floating (but seen as hovering) on an invisible box in one of the early Stentec sceneries I made.
The basic seaplane I made floated well so maybe with a bit of "trickery" I could get to move....